NBC’s long network nightmare is over, quipped Olympics executive producer Jim Bell on a conference call from Sochi: Bob Costas will return Monday night as host of NBC’s Olympics broadcasts. While it was fine to have Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira jump in during the six nights Costas missed due to an eye infection, “Bob’s always the man,” he said.

In the photo tweeted by NBC, Costas has no eyeglasses in sight.

“During the worst three days of it I was primarily in a darkened room,” Costas said, adding that he was able to go to the hotel restaurant and walk out on a terrace overlooking the Black Sea. “On the second day that I was out, (NBC Sports Group Chairman) Mark Lazarus arranged to have an NBC feed hooked up to my room.” He was able to catch not only the Olympics coverage but “the last minutes of the Syracuse-N.C. State game to see my alma mater pull another miracle.” Go, Orange.

At its worst, the infection caused blurred vision and light sensitivity that made it impossible to go back on the air. “There’s still some redness and swelling,” Costas said, “but I can function.”

More than 100 million Americans have watched at least some of the Sochi Winter Games on the networks of NBCUniversal, according to Nielsen. NBC executives said Wednesday the ratings for the 2014 Sochi Olympics — the most viewed Winter Olympics ever — have been “beyond expectations,” adding that the bigger story is success beyond primetime. In a conference call from Sochi, NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus noted viewing habits are changing: “The Olympics have always been a glimpse into the future,” in terms of media behavior and the way companies release material. What they’re finding is a “circle model,” in which digital consumption drives people back to TV which drives them to digital.

For instance, a huge percentage of people who watch live events on NBC Sports Network watch again on NBC in primetime to see the curated, packaged stories. Will the circle be unbroken? The many networks of NBC Universal would like to keep you in that loop.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.